I was surprised to read about NSW Labor’s plans for affordable housing, released on the weekend. The NSW Opposition Leader grandly announced ambitious targets for this type of development on publicly-owned land. I think Luke Foley is out of touch with Newcastle.

Labor controlled Newcastle City Council and Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp have failed to back the proposed 30-unit affordable housing project on the government-owned old rail corridor. This project came with $3 million from the Hunter Development Corporation and approximately $1 million of land value.

The NSW government has also asked the council to utilise the Commonwealth’s $3 million Building Better Cities fund it has been sitting on for over a decade. It was an opportunity to ensure the revitalised Newcastle central business district retained some workers in key occupations who, with relatively modest salaries, could live in the city centre.

It’s a salutary lesson for the electorate. Labor will be making lofty gestures as the next state election approaches. The reality is they have neither the will or the capacity to deliver anything of substance. Scot MacDonald, Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Central Coast and the Hunter